experienced this loss more than doubled during this period, going from about 27 to 63 children per 100,000. The group with the highest number of affected children were those with non-Hispanic white parents, but communities of color and tribal communities were also significantly impacted.
During the specified time frame, the number of children experiencing this loss more than doubled, increasing from approximately 27 to 63 children per 100,000. The most affected children came from families with non-Hispanic white parents, although communities of color and tribal communities were also disproportionately impacted. The study, which was a collaborative effort, was led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Children with non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native parents consistDuring the years 2011 to 2021, children of Hispanic parents experienced the highest rate of losing a parent due to overdose. In 2021, 187 out of 100,000 children in this group were affected, which is more than double the rate of non-Hispanic white children (76.5 per 100,000) and non-Hispanic Black children (73 per 100,000). The number of affected children increased across all racial and ethnic groups during this time period, with young non-Hispanic Black parents (18 to 25 years old) experiencing the highest annual increase in loss rate at about 24%. Overall, more children lost fathers than mothers, with 192,459 compared to 129,107 children affected during this period.
Nora Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA, expressed deep concern over the fact that nearly half of the individuals who died from a drug overdose were parents. She emphasized the importance of providing support to families affected by addiction and highlighted the need for prevention, treatment, and recovery services. The study revealed that 649,599 people between the ages of 18 and 64 lost their lives to drug overdose over the span of 2011 to 2021.
Prior to this study, no national research had calculated the amount of children who were left without a parent due to these drug-related deaths. In order to fill this information gap, scientists utilized data from the 2010 to 2019 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for individuals aged 18 to 64. The objective was to identify the number of children under 18 living with a parent between 18 to 64 years old who had used drugs in the past year. NSDUH’s definition of a parent includes biological parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, or adult guardians.
Using this information, the researchers then made an estimation of the number of children who had lost a parent out of the nearly 650,000 individuals who died from a drug overdose between 2011 and 2021, based on national data.The CDC National Vital Statistics System provided data on parental mortality, which was analyzed based on age group (18 to 25, 26 to 40, and 41 to 64), gender, and self-reported race and ethnicity.
Between 2011 and 2021, an estimated 321,566 American children lost a parent to overdose. The majority of these deaths occurred in parents aged 26 to 40 (175,355 children) and among non-Hispanic white parents (234,164). Hispanic parents accounted for the next highest number of deaths (40,062), followed by non-Hispanic Black parents (35,743), who also had the highest rate of loss and a high year-to-year rate.The rise in overdose deaths among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and Black Americans is consistent with the overall increase in overdose deaths. This highlights the disproportionate impact of the overdose crisis on minority communities. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and the leader of SAMHSA stated, “This study is the first of its kind and helps us understand the tragic scale of the overdose crisis and its effects on children and families.
People of color are facing significant disparities in overdose deaths, highlighting the need for comprehensive responses to the overdose crisis. The researchers stress the importance of providing whole-person health care that prioritizes individuals with substance use disorder as parents or family members, and offers prevention resources to support families and break generational cycles of substance use. The study also highlights the importance of incorporating culturally-informed approaches in prevention, treatment, and recovery.
nd harm reduction services, and to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in accessing these services.
“Children who lose a parent to overdose not only experience personal grief but may also face additional challenges, such as increased family instability,” explained Allison Arwady, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “We need to ensure that families have the resources and support to prevent an overdose from occurring and to address the impact of such a traumatic event.”
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